The Taguig City government issued a statement about a 911 emergency call received by its Taguig Command Center about a netizen who called the national hotline about his 70-year-old father who had a heart attack and later died. 

On Aug. 15, actor and performer Basty Askri of Barangay Maharlika Village, Taguig, posted on Facebook and lashed out at the 911 hotline for not answering his call after nearly 10 minutes. 

“Tang*** mo, 911. Tang*** mo, Pilipinas. Halos 10 minutes na akong tumatawag sa 911 pero wala pa ring sumasagot. At nung may sumagot na, put****na, puro ‘wait.’ Rinig na rinig ko pa yung tawanan at chikahan habang may taong nangangailangan ng emergency assistance (I've been calling 911 for almost 10 minutes but no one has answered. And when someone answered, damn it, it was just ‘wait.’ I could hear the laughter and chatter while someone needed emergency assistance).”

He said his father then had a heart attack. He administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) while waiting for an ambulance. 

Askri criticized the ambulance that arrived as it had no automated external defibrillator (AED), which is used to help people experiencing cardiac arrest. 

“At nung dumating na ang ambulansya, walang AED. Walang sapat na gamit. Walang pumalit sa akin sa pag-CPR. Ako pa rin ang gumagawa ng CPR. Tang***, ano 'to? (And when the ambulance arrived, there was no AED. There wasn't enough equipment. No one took my place in CPR. I was still doing the CPR. F*, what's this?),” he added. 

In its statement, the Taguig City government said at 12:17 p.m. on Aug. 15, its Taguig Command Center received a call from the Unified 911 for ambulance assistance in Barangay Maharlika Village about a possible heart attack case. 

The address given by 911 to the Taguig Command Center only contained a lot and block number without any street address or landmark. 

It tried to get from 911 the complete address of the patient but it was not given in order to determine the exact location of the patient. 

The Taguig Command Center also tried calling the number of the caller given by 911 but the calls were unanswered. It contacted Barangay Maharlika Village and Barangay Upper Bicutan for immediate assistance. 

Several relatives of the patient went to the barangay hall of Maharlika. The barangay immediately sent its patient transport vehicle (PTV) and the patient was taken and arrived at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital at 12:43 pm. 

The patient was given medical intervention and resuscitative measures but was declared dead at 1:24 p.m. 

Meanwhile, an ambulance from Upper Bicutan went to the Maharlika barangay hall to get details about the patient but was informed that the patient was already taken to the hospital. 

“Handa ang mga kinauukulang tanggapan ng Taguig na makipagtulungan at magbigay ng kinakailangang impormasyon sa anumang opisyal na imbestigasyon ukol sa usaping ito (Relevant Taguig offices are ready to cooperate and provide necessary information in any official investigation regarding this matter),” the Taguig City government said. 

Apology 

Askri posted an apology on Aug. 16 for cursing in his original post.  

“Again, I'm sincerely sorry for the inappropriate words I used regarding 911, and I'm also sorry for the confusion regarding the barangay ambulance. We were scared, we were grieving, and we were trying to save my father's life. Nag-react po ako dahil sa takot at galit, pero inaamin ko rin po kapag may kailangan akong itama (I reacted out of fear and anger, but I also admit when I need to correct something),” he said. 

He said, “First, I would like to sincerely apologize for the inappropriate words I used regarding the 911 hotline. I was extremely emotional and overwhelmed by what was happening to my father at that time. I’m very sorry po.” 

Askri said he found out that the ambulance from their barangay was not the ambulance dispatched by 911.

In a Facebook post, Barangay Captain Hareem Pautin of Maharlika Village explained that an ambulance is for sudden emergencies and carries equipment and personnel for serious patients while a patient transport vehicle is only used for transporting patients whose condition is not critical to or from a hospital.

He said a PTV only has a chair or bed, with a driver and helper and does not have heavy medical equipment while an ambulance has an oxygen tank, stretcher, defibrillator, nurse or EMT (emergency medical technician). 

Basty Askri (left and his father (Photo from Basty Askri's Facebook account)